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OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER expects great things from Anthony Martial, after he proved he was “bruised” but not beaten by his slow start to the season.
Solskjaer feels that the sky is the limit for the French forward, now that he has shown that he can combine a high pace of work with his undoubted skills.
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The Manchester United manager said Martial crashed to the ground in the 6-2 win against Leeds but still had a lot in the tank when he was sent as a substitute to score the second goal in the Carabao Cup win at the Everton.
And he believes that now that Martial has finally proven that it has a powerful engine to go along with its high level of performance, it is going to prove an even more valuable asset.
Solskjaer explained: “Anthony has made some big contributions lately – assists, he’s scored goals and he’s getting in shape, as he demonstrated against Leeds.
“And he knows I’m going to talk to him now. His career stats from that game set a new standard for him, which I want to see from him more often.
“It will always have quality. Maybe his confidence was hurt a bit by what happened earlier in the season with the red card, and he’s had some criticism.
“But it’s going to get better and better from now on. When we have Marcus Rashord, Mason Greenwood and Anthony shooting all cylinders together, we will be an even greater threat to other teams. “
Solskjaer’s team heads to Leicester today with the United manager set to maintain an incredible streak that has kept them undefeated on their travels in all domestic competitions since mid-January.
But he’s not so keen on stretching another remarkable sequence: United have won all six away games in the Premier League this year despite conceding the first goal each time.
When asked if he was surprised by the efficiency of his team outside Old Trafford, Solskjaer replied: “Why should I be? We go into every game thinking that we can win it, so if it’s at home or away, it doesn’t matter at this point.
“It’s not like it used to be a year ago, you only have a few fans in certain games, so it doesn’t feel that different …
“But we know that it will catch up with you if you keep giving the teams the advantage. And Leicester are one of those teams that you definitely don’t want to give a one or two goal advantage to.
“They have so many players who are really good at transition. They can play at halftime, and if you’re chasing the game, you can easily end up conceding two, three, and four.
“The first goal in any game is very important. So we have to start as well as we did against Leeds and against Everton. We started excellent in both games.
“We have had some very good games against Leicester, some very close games. They are a very good team with a really astute coach, and I have enjoyed watching them with Brendan.
“It was a good test to go down to their stadium at the end of the summer and we passed it with great success. We really play a controlled game
“It’s a different time of the season now, but we have to be so aware that they have some threats that we need to be on the lookout for.”
Another good day away will push United towards the title reckoning, and Solskjaer is pleased that his team is once again seen as a contender after an uneven start to the season.
“It’s not something we talk about, but there’s always noise around Man United anyway.” he said.
“For us, it’s just about improving as a team, taking one game at a time. We have to. That is the only way it will challenge anything.
“The only thing we talk about and what we focus on is improving day by day, how to deal with certain situations, and maybe right now, right now, we are getting praise. And that’s good.”
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